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Fall Courses

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100-01 Rudiments of Music MWF 9:30-10:20 a.m.In this half-semester course students will become familiar with the elements of music notation (staves, clefs, pitch names, note and rest values) and with some of the basic skills necessary for college-level music instruction (e.g., construction and identification of scales, intervals, triads, and basic diatonic functions).Applies to requirement(s): Meets No Distribution RequirementL. SchipullNotes: Meets for only the first half of the semester

102 Music and Technology MW 1:15-2:30It is now possible to record, manipulate, notate, and compose music with a variety of powerful and flexible tools using the personal computer. This course will focus on hands-on experience with various sorts of music software, including recording and editing, mixing, synthesis and midi interfaces, notation, and various instructional programs. In the process of experimenting with these tools and operating on their favorite musical styles, students will learn a good bit of notation, ear training, and rudimentary principles of arrangement and composition. Basic computer literacy (such as comfort with basic editing commands and the concept of keyboard shortcuts) is required.Applies to requirement(s): HumanitiesT. Ciufo

131-01 Basic Musicianship MWF 9:30-10:20 a.m. Pratt-109; TTh (labs) 8:55-9:45 a.m. Pratt-WarbekeExplores the ways in which sound is organized into musical structures. Topics include the physical properties of sound; the basic vocabulary of Western music (scales, key signatures, intervals, triads, rhythm, meter); and an introduction to musical form and analysis. Includes extensive practice in music reading, sight singing, ear training, and critical listening.Applies to requirement(s): HumanitiesL. SchipullCoreq: MUSIC-131L.

220 Music and Film TTh 11:30-12:45 p.m. Pratt-109This course is for all who stay to the end of the credits, purchase soundtracks, and argue over who should have won the Oscar for Best Score, along with anyone else interested in the undervalued importance of music to the general effect of a motion picture. We will explore and discuss the myriad ways in which these two media interact. The course will focus on classic scores by Herrmann, Morricone, and Williams, as well as the uses of pre-existing music in films of Kubrick and Tarantino.Crosslisted as: FLMST-220MUApplies to requirement(s): HumanitiesD. SanfordPrereq: MUSIC-100, MUSIC-102, MUSIC-103 or MUSIC-131.

226-01 World Music: MW 1:30-2:45 p.m. Pratt-109This course is a survey of selected musical traditions from different parts of the world, including Africa, Indonesia, Indian, the Caribbean, and the United States. The course adopts an ethnomusicological approach that explains music as a cultural phenomenon, and explores the social and aesthetic significance of musical traditions within their respective historical and cultural contexts. It examines how musical traditions change over time, and how such changes reflect and relate to social and political changes within a given society. Weekly reading and listening assignments provide the basis for class discussions. Students are expected to undertake a final project in music ethnography.Crosslisted as:Applies to requirement(s): Humanities; Multicultural PerspectivesOther attributes: Writing-Intensive B. OmojolaInstructor permission required for all who register? N

281-01 History of Western Music I MW 2:55-4:10 p.m. Pratt-WarbekeThe first in a three-semester survey of Western music history. Details to be announced.Applies to requirement(s): HumanitiesR. EisensteinWriting-IntensivePrereq: Music 100 or Music 131.

371-01 Topics in Music — Electronic and Experimental Music T 1:30-4:20 p.m. Pratt-103/104This course examines significant moments of disruption found at the intersection of particular technologies and emergent musical practices. We will explore a range of electronic and experimental music approaches, read case studies and other influential texts, as well as engaging the sonic outcomes and aesthetic / philosophical implications of these developments. We will further explore and test the potential promise, hype and challenges posed by these emergent music practices through hands-on labs and creative projects.Applies to requirement(s): HumanitiesT. CiufoPrereq: MUSIC-231 and MUSIC-281, or 282, or 283, or consent of instructor

FYSEM-110TG-01 Transgressive Music TTH 10:00-11:15 a.m. Pratt-109The seminar will introduce and discuss various musical works and genres that fall under rock critic Ann Powers' definitions of 'Violator Art,' exploring them within the context of their wanton and disturbing appeal, as well as their often scandalous social impact. Topics will include the Second Viennese School, free jazz, protest music, punk rock, hip-hop, works such as J. S. Bach's 'Cantata No. 179,' Strauss's 'Salome,' Stravinsky's 'Le Sacre du printemps,' Billie Holiday's 'Strange Fruit,' George Crumb's 'Black Angels,' and artists such as Frank Zappa, Donna Summer, Prince, and Nirvana.Applies to requirement(s): Meets No Distribution RequirementWriting-IntensiveD. SanfordThis is a first year seminar.

Spring Courses

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Spring 2018 Classes

100-01 Rudiments of Music MWF 9:00-9:50 Pratt Room 109In this half-semester course students will become familiar with the elements of music notation (staves, clefs, pitch names, note and rest values) and with some of the basic skills necessary for college-level music instruction (e.g., construction and identification of scales, intervals, triads, and basic diatonic functions). Meets for only the first half of each semester.D. Sanford

131-01 Basic Musicianship MTWThF 9:00-9:50 Pratt Room 109 (TTh Labs in Warbeke Room)Explores the ways in which sound is organized into musical structures. Topics include the physical properties of sound; the basic vocabulary of Western music (scales, key signatures, intervals, triads, rhythm, meter); and an introduction to musical form and analysis. Includes extensive practice in music reading, sight singing, ear training, and critical listening.Meets Humanities I-A requirementD. Sanford

102 - Music and TechnologyMW 1:15-2:30 Pratt Room 103It is now possible to record, manipulate, notate, and compose music with a variety of powerful and flexible tools using the personal computer. This course will focus on hands-on experience with various sorts of music software, including recording and editing, mixing, synthesis and midi interfaces, notation, and various instructional programs. In the process of experimenting with these tools and operating on their favorite musical styles, students will learn a good bit of notation, ear training, and rudimentary principles of arrangement and composition. Basic computer literacy (such as comfort with basic editing commands and the concept of keyboard shortcuts) is required. T. Ciufo

103 - History of Jazz TTh 11:30-12:45 Pratt Room 109This course will follow the origins and evolution of jazz from the late nineteenth century to the present, with emphases on prominent stylistic trends and significant individuals. Along with some analysis of the musical language jazz employs, the music will be examined in its relation to the social contexts that helped produce and shape it. The ability to read music is not a requirement for this course.Meets Humanities I-A requirementD. Sanford

228 - African Opera MW 1:15-2:30 Pratt Room 109(Writing-intensive course; Theatre 215AF) In this course, African opera will provide the framework for exploring salient features of African music. The course will begin by examining a wide range of performance elements, including ensemble practice, the role of dance, and musical storytelling. The second part will feature practical sessions culminating in a public performance of an African opera. Students will work with visiting and local musicians and choreographer. The practical sessions will afford students an opportunity to reflect on the theoretical issues examined earlier on in the semester, and gain practical knowledge of the African operatic tradition.Meets multicultural requirement; meets Humanities I-A requirementB. Omojola

242/341 - Conducting I & II TTh 2:40 - 3:55 Pratt Warbeke RoomFundamentals of conducting: gestures, rehearsal techniques, study of representative short scores, and practice leading primarily choral ensembles. Videotaping, class recital. Conducting II builds on fundamentals of conducting from Music 242. The course will include gestural vocabulary, moving fluently between choral and instrumental conducting, introduction to keyboard realization of scores, relationship between interpretation and conducting, and rehearsal preparation. The conducting class forms the core of the ensemble for the class.T. NgPrereq. Music 231, ensemble experience

269 - Projects in Sound and Media Arts T 1:15-4:05 Pratt Room 103/104This innovative arts and technology course will explore emerging creative practices that transcend any single medium or discipline. Class meetings will combine seminar-style discussions, hands-on lab sessions, brainstorming and project development, and critique sessions for feedback on student projects. Guest artists' visits will enhance students' exposure to sound and media arts practitioners. While sound will be a primary focus of the course, students will design and realize projects that might also include still or moving images, text, spoken word, graphics, computational elements, interactivity, performance, etc. At least one project will be collaborative and involve multiple mediums.Meets Humanities I-A requirementT. CiufoPermission of Instructor

282 - History II TTh 1:15-2:30 Pratt Room 109(Writing Intensive) The second in a three-semester survey of Western music history, Music 282 examines the cultures of art music in Europe and the Americas from 1700-1900, focusing on the evolution of styles and genres and the changing roles of composers, performers, and audiences.Meets Humanities I-A requirementA. MuellerPrereq: MUSIC-100 or MUSIC-131

321 - Art, Music and the Brain M 1:15-4:05 Pratt Warbeke Room(PSYCH-349AM) Art and music are a part of all human cultures. Is there something about the human brain that drives us to paint and sing? We will examine how the brain simultaneously processes different aspects of visual and auditory stimuli, ask how this processing may affect the way we do art and music, and explore where these phenomena may occur in the brain. As we engage in discussion and hands-on activities, we will discover the commonalities between the arts and the sciences including practice, experimentation, exploration, innovation, and creativity.This course is limited to seniors. Prereq: At least 8 credits at the 200 level in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, Art History, or Music.Linda Laderach/Mara Breen

334 - Music Analysis TTh 10-11:15 Pratt Room 101The course begins with an overview of the ways music analysis informs, and is informed by, other disciplines of musical inquiry: history, criticism, etc. The course culminates in an application of various analytic approaches to a small group of related works within the Western art music tradition. This year the topic will be adapting plays into operas, and we will study two operatic adaptations of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Purcell’s The Fairy-Queen (1692) and Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1960). Applies to requirement(s): HumanitiesA. MuellerPrereq: MUSIC-232

FYSEM-110MD-01 - Early Music Drama TTH 11:30-12:45 Pratt Warbeke Room

This seminar will explore the development of the relationship between music and drama in Europe from its beginnings in classical Greece to the first public performances of opera in the 1630s. We will hear, see and read selected works along the way. These plays, rituals and entertainments will be our texts for the semester. We will discuss and write about such issues as the relationship between words and music, the interaction between music and the visual component of these works (dance, costumes, sets, acting) and the social, political and economic contexts of these texts.

R. Eisenstein

The department's introductory courses offer a solid foundation in musicianship, including music reading, sight singing, ear training, and critical listening.

In addition, Mount Holyoke offers intermediate through advanced courses in music history, ethnomusicology, theory and analysis, performance, conducting, and composition.

Advanced (300-level) courses are usually taken only in the senior year.

Classroom courses in music theory or history may be eligible for transfer credit. Performance credits such as music lessons or ensemble participation are not eligible for transfer credit.

Auditions and the Music 100 Exemption Exam are required for official registration in all performance courses; a minimum intermediate level is required for registration in most instruments. Private instruction is offered at three levels.

First-Year Students

Introductory classes in fundamentals, music history and literature, and composition are offered for students with little or no experience; those with more experience may be able to exempt prerequisites and enter directly into the music theory or music history course sequence.

A first-year student interested in a music major or minor should take or exempt Music 100, Rudiments of Music, or Music 131, Basic Musicianship (Rudiments with a lab component), in the fall of their first year so that they may enroll in 231 in the spring of their first year. Spring entrants should exempt Music 100 when they arrive on campus so that they may enroll in 231.

Music Exemption ExamsStudents who demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the rudiments of music will be exempted from the Music 100 prerequisite for certain courses and from the Music 100 requirement associated with individual performance studies.